The Monash Corpus of Spoken Australian English

This paper takes stock of findings based on the Monash Corpus of Australian English. In 1996–97 members of the (then) Monash University Department of Linguistics embarked on the collection of a corpus in Victoria to facilitate the study of variation in phonology, morphosyntax, lexicon and discourse patterns. The largest part of the corpus was based on data from Year 10 students in ten schools selected according to socioeconomic status of locality and type of school (state, Catholic, independent including Greek Orthodox and Jewish; co-educational and single-sex, boys and girls). The data comprises two conversations per student with a stranger (including some citation reading), and two self-taped conversations, one with (usually) three generations of their family and one with same-age friends. The corpus has been used for research by colleagues and graduate students from LaTrobe, Melbourne, and Monash Universities. It has enabled some hitherto unidentified syntactic features of Australian English to be recognized (concord, articles, relative clauses). It has drawn attention to intergenerational change in certain vowels, to developments in /t/ tapping and glottalization, most especially in informal settings, to onset glottalization, and to the emergence and disappearance of ethnolects and the identification of their features. It has also been employed for studies of discourse quotatives, including comparisons with American, British and Canadian English. As yet, the corpus remains underutilized. For example, phonological analysis has concentrated on the interview data, and much could still be done on situational variation, particularly in families of migrant background. There is also scope for a new round of recordings to make the project a longitudinal one

Integrative genomic and proteomic analyses identify targets for Lkb1 deficient metastatic lung tumors

SummaryIn mice, Lkb1 deletion and activation of KrasG12D results in lung tumors with a high penetrance of lymph node and distant metastases. We analyzed these primary and metastatic de novo lung cancers with integrated genomic and proteomic profiles and have identified gene and phosphoprotein signatures associated with Lkb1 loss and progression to invasive and metastatic lung tumors. These studies revealed that SRC is activated in Lkb1 deficient primary and metastatic lung tumors and that the combined inhibition of SRC, PI3K and MEK1/2 resulted in synergistic tumor regression. These studies demonstrate that integrated genomic and proteomic analyses can be used to identify signaling pathways that may be targeted for treatment

Efficacy and cost-effectiveness of an outcall program to reduce carer burden and depression among carers of cancer patients (PROTECT) : rationale and design of a randomized controlled trial

Published: 6 January 2014BACKGROUND: Carers provide extended and often unrecognized support to people with cancer. The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that excessive carer burden is modifiable through a telephone outcall intervention that includes supportive care, information and referral to appropriate psycho-social services. Secondary aims include estimation of changes in psychological health and quality of life. The study will determine whether the intervention reduces unmet needs among patient dyads. A formal economic program will also be conducted. METHODS/DESIGN: This study is a single-blind, multi-centre, randomized controlled trial to determine the efficacy and cost-efficacy of a telephone outcall program among carers of newly diagnosed cancer patients. A total of 230 carer/patient dyads will be recruited into the study; following written consent, carers will be randomly allocated to either the outcall intervention program (n = 115) or to a minimal outcall / attention control service (n = 115). Carer assessments will occur at baseline, at one and six months post-intervention. The primary outcome is change in carer burden; the secondary outcomes are change in carer depression, quality of life, health literacy and unmet needs. The trial patients will be assessed at baseline and one month post-intervention to determine depression levels and unmet needs. The economic analysis will include perspectives of both the health care sector and broader society and comprise a cost-consequences analysis where all outcomes will be compared to costs. DISCUSSION: This study will contribute to our understanding on the potential impact of a telephone outcall program on carer burden and provide new evidence on an approach for improving the wellbeing of carers.Patricia M Livingston, Richard H Osborne, Mari Botti, Cathy Mihalopoulos, Sean McGuigan, Leila Heckel, Kate Gunn, Jacquie Chirgwin, David M Ashley and Melinda William

PANC Study (Pancreatitis: A National Cohort Study): national cohort study examining the first 30 days from presentation of acute pancreatitis in the UK

Abstract Background Acute pancreatitis is a common, yet complex, emergency surgical presentation. Multiple guidelines exist and management can vary significantly. The aim of this first UK, multicentre, prospective cohort study was to assess the variation in management of acute pancreatitis to guide resource planning and optimize treatment. Methods All patients aged greater than or equal to 18 years presenting with acute pancreatitis, as per the Atlanta criteria, from March to April 2021 were eligible for inclusion and followed up for 30 days. Anonymized data were uploaded to a secure electronic database in line with local governance approvals. Results A total of 113 hospitals contributed data on 2580 patients, with an equal sex distribution and a mean age of 57 years. The aetiology was gallstones in 50.6 per cent, with idiopathic the next most common (22.4 per cent). In addition to the 7.6 per cent with a diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis, 20.1 per cent of patients had a previous episode of acute pancreatitis. One in 20 patients were classed as having severe pancreatitis, as per the Atlanta criteria. The overall mortality rate was 2.3 per cent at 30 days, but rose to one in three in the severe group. Predictors of death included male sex, increased age, and frailty; previous acute pancreatitis and gallstones as aetiologies were protective. Smoking status and body mass index did not affect death. Conclusion Most patients presenting with acute pancreatitis have a mild, self-limiting disease. Rates of patients with idiopathic pancreatitis are high. Recurrent attacks of pancreatitis are common, but are likely to have reduced risk of death on subsequent admissions. </jats:sec

Dry Norms. "The Default Country: A Lexical Cartography of Twentieth-Century Australia" by J.M. Arthur [review]

Vocabulary is linked to culture in perhaps an obvious way. But it’s not just suasive words and expressions that we have to guard against. There are also the structural patterns of language. These are loaded with bias, too, and they operate at a much more subtle level. It would be interesting to go beyond the lexicon and to see how the relationship between non-indigenous Australians and the Australian place is revealed in those aspects of our language that are more than theoretical. But for those who love words, Arthur presents a lexical treasure trove, full of wonderful insights and illuminating examples. We need more works like "The Default Country" to explain language, and also to expose it.Australia Council, La Trobe University, National Library of Australia, Holding Redlich, Arts Victori

New Standards in a Glorious Grammar. "The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language" by Rodney Huddleston and Geoffrey K. Pullum (eds). [review]

Kate Burridge has read many excellent accounts of the English language over the years, but this recent publication by Cambridge University Press is by far the most impressive. In fact, "The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language" is for her one of the most superb works of academic scholarship ever to appear on the English linguistics scene. The editors, Rodney Huddleston (Research Consultant, University of Queensland) and Geoffrey K. Pullum (Professor of Linguistics, University of California, Santa Cruz), are leading authorities in this field; so too are their thirteen co-authors. This was a magnificent team effort, spanning more than ten years. Together these linguists have produced a monumental work that offers easily the most comprehensive and thought-provoking treatment of English grammar to date. Nothing rivals this work, with respect to breadth, depth and consistency of coverage.Australia Council, La Trobe University, National Library of Australia, Holding Redlich, Arts Victori

Euphemism and Language Change: The Sixth and Seventh Ages

No matter which human group we look at, past or present, euphemism and its counterpart dysphemism are powerful forces and they are extremely important for the study of language change. They provide an emotive trigger for word addition, word loss, phonological distortion and semantic shift. Word taboo plays perpetual havoc with the methods of historical comparative linguistics, even undermining one of the cornerstones of the discipline – the arbitrary nature of the word. When it comes to taboo words, speakers behave as if there were a very real connection between the physical shape of words and their taboo sense. This is why these words are so unstable and why they are so powerful. This paper reviews the various communicative functions of euphemisms and the different linguistic strategies that are used in their creation, focusing on the linguistic creativity that surrounds the topic of ‘old age’ in Modern English (Shakespeare’s sixth and seventh ages). And since personal names form such a special case of word taboo, some consideration will also be given to the ancient and modern perspective of naming